Thomas Richard D’Arco of Riverside suspended for loan modification services misconduct and unauthorized practice of law

Thomas Richard D’Arco [#79929], 76, of Riverside, was suspended Dec. 8, 2017, for one year and placed on probation for two years. His suspension's time frame is contingent upon paying restitution. He must make restitution of $3,941 to two clients. D’Arco stipulated that he collected an illegal fee to perform home mortgage loan modification legal services in Wisconsin, where he is not licensed to practice. He committed similar misconduct with clients in Illinois, Washington, New York and New Mexico. He charged and collected legal fees for loan modification services in California before he had fully performed those services. In aggravation he had one prior record of discipline stemming from five ethical violations in two client matters. He has shown a pattern of misconduct. He caused significant harm to financially vulnerable clients. He showed indifference toward rectification and atonement for the consequences of his misconduct. He failed to make full restitution to two clients.